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What I’ve observed to be pressing problems at the Washtenaw County Jail are the following: 1) the hostility that the incarcerated women embody; 2) the effect that having only one hour of free time has on prisoners’ psyches when they are in the maximum security portion of the jail; 3) the social stigma that a freed inmates faces when he/she has to identify that they’ve been to jail. All three problems have impacted me someway either during our sessions or outside of class. Furthermore, all problems have, as causes, situations dealing with privilege and oppression.
While I’m not in a section of SOC389 that affords me an opportunity to interact with women prisoners, I am able to converse with fellow classmates that do. These classmates have mentioned the hostile environment that they continually encounter, and feel that it’s caused by the women inmates having no decision in whether they attend the discussion session. This is a stark contrast from the men’s portion of the jail where inmates are able to choose three activities from more than ten. Those who come to our creative writing sessions do so because writing is something they are at least interested in, and my group has yet to have a participant who has caused trouble.
When I was introduced to this dichotomy between the two sections, the readings for that week included Donziger’s “Women in the Criminal Justice System.” This article shed more light on why the women in the jail might be hostile toward my classmates by suggesting that a high portion of the women might be incarcerated because of non-violent offenses, and odds are that the majority of them are mothers who have been separated from their children. Donziger states that “78 percent of the women in prison have children”...
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... if we’re able to give employment opportunities to inmates, this will help provide a solid base layer for them to build a new life on. They will be able to contribute to the community that they live in, and help prevent the possibility of them returning back to the jail.
Because our exposure to the jail is limited to only a semester, if we’re able to connect with businesses that will be in place long after we’ve left the university, that will bring forth more opportunities than what my group is able to produce by itself. Our hope is that if an inmate is able to be hired through these connections, it will serve as the first example of a community trying to better itself. The inmate will then realize what is possible if people collaborate their resources, motivation, and work ethic, towards a goal that tries to get rid of the oppression that’s currently in place.
The next big show that everyone seems to be talking about nowadays is “Orange is the new black.” A show that is centered on what citizens think a day in the life in a women’s prison is. But in all reality a women’s prison isn’t something to joke around about. Prison is defined as a correctional facility designed for confinement that is primarily ran by the state. Women serve their sentences in women’s prisons where men serve theirs in men’s prisons. According to Ashley Dugger an online introduction to criminal justice professor there is about 4,500 prisons in the United States alone. Of those 4,500 only 170 of them are solely women’s prisons.
Erin G., 2010, A Woman Doing Life: Notes from a Prison for Women: The Southwest Journal of Criminal Justice. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. Pp. vi, 202, Vol. 8(2)175.
Women in Prison. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics Varnam, Steve. Our prisons are a crime (reforming the prison system). Editorial. Christianity Today 21 June 1993
Many females incarcerated have only been charged on account of minor offences (Simon). They are hardly a hazard to their communities (Simon). There are infinite portions of women being sent to the slammer for short-term sentences because of minor offenses (Simon). This factor has led to overpopulation in the women prisons (Simon). It is more widely known that men usually tend to commit more crimes than women; a well-known fact that has questioned people on how such crowding could happen in a women’s prison (Simon).
American prisoners receive free medical attention, housing, meals, utilities, use of exercise equipment, and laundry services. The cost of these services amount in the billions of dollars a year and government budgets are straining to accommodate these fiscal requirements. “There’s special urgency in prisons these days,” “As state budgets get constricted, the public is looking for ways to offset the cost of imprisonment” (Brown). This economic concern requires work programs to aid in the relief of financial burdens incurred from convicted criminals. Once found guilty of a crime the prisoner needs to take responsibility for the costs incurred. Prison labor has evolved from the day of hard labor, breaking rocks, and making license plates to manufacturing, data processing, electronics, farming, construction, and even customer relations. Prisoners in America need to work, not to be confused with slavery, for economical, recidivism, and responsibility concerns. Work programs are crucial if taxpayers are tired of paying the cost for prison's financial liability, prisoner's family support, and release support programs.
Scratan, P and Moore, L. (2006) Degardation, Harm and Survival in Women’s Prison. Social Policy and Society, 5, pp 67-78.
Prisoners have a lot of free time on their hands, some of which is spent getting into confrontations with other inmates or making weapons, both of these activities can exacerbate their sentence. So by having them work we are keeping them out of trouble by giving then something positive to do while allowing them to learn skills that will aid them in getting a job after they are released. One of the main problems that we are facing is that a large percentage of former inmates return to prison. “Many prisoners want to work…inmates who work are less likely to commit crimes when they are released.” ...
The U.S is only 5% of the world’s population and houses a quarter of its prison inmates; well over 2 million people. In the past decade the war on drugs has filled many state and federal prisons with a numerous amount of inmates. Building new prisons is not the answer to tackling the prison overcrowding dilemma. The U.S doesn’t have the money due to economic strains, and it will not solve this issue head on as needed. “California may be forced to release up to 33,000 prisoners by 2013” (Shapiro & Wizner, 2011, p.1.). Some women and men do not belong in prison, and should be given other opportunities to sought help. Prison overcrowding is a growing concern in the U.S today. There are many different alternatives to end prison overcrowding versus releasing them into the community. For example by launching a parole support group or treatment or rehabilitation programs for inmates as well as ex-offenders, house arrest or probation are other routes to explore.
When the criminal justice system was established, the main objective was to create neutrality and fairness between the sexes. Even though people might believe that there is no such thing as ‘stereotyping’ in the criminal justice system, it is quite obvious that women are constantly being look down upon because of their sex. In general, women tend to be treated like fragile objects that could break at any moment; the truth is that women can be strong and courageous just like men. Society stereotypes women and the criminal justice system is no different.
The population of people entering the prison systems nationwide is increasing exponentially. Often times, it is due to the living conditions in which they return to such as facing the same poverty, limited prospects and minimal network connections that make them turn to crime to survive. For obvious reasons, income is the solution to many of their problems which can only be obtained with their “by any means necessary” mindset. Prison has almost become a second home for recurring inmates a...
can become a major source of income, not only for the inmate, but also for
Within society, more men than women are imprisoned. However, women’s incarceration rates have significantly increased since the 1980s. International Centre for Prison Studies found that more than 200,000 US women are confined in the prison population in 2013. Despite the figure, most women were serving sentences for nonviolent offenses. Women were usually incarcerated primarily for property crimes, drug offenses and victims of domestic violence. Statistic found that only one-third of imprisoned women were sentenced for violent crimes. While 56 percent of imprisoned women were sentenced for non-violence crimes. This essay will critically discuss the different experiences of female prisoners. This essay will also highlight the issues faced by
However, there are cases when women actually feel they are safer in prison than when they are out in the world. The removal from the outside world gives them the chance to focus on themselves. Bradley and Davino’s study conducted in 2002 collects the general feel that 65 incarcerated women have towards a southern state prison. These women reported feeling safer when compared to their adulthood and childhood before prison. Outside of prison, women are susceptible to emotional and physical pain because of problems such as domestic violence or drugs. This prison also gave women the education needed when they are eventually released. Some women had not even heard of the dangers of disease like HIV before.
Although this essay outlines and identifies the difficulties and issues women often face in prison and clearly demonstrates how the conditions are far worse than that of a male prison, it is not to say that men don’t face cruelty and harsh conditions in prisons also. Men also face difficulties and issues particular to their own respects, but when laid out plainly, we see that women in prisons do have a more difficult time mentally, socially, and health wise.
With the numbers of individuals being incarcerated in the United States increasing on a consistent basis, the potential work pool for employers to choose from is decre...